After hearing the arguments of 18 impassioned medical marijuana advocates and a few foes, a decision on whether to toughen the zoning restrictions on medical marijuana dispensaries was pushed back Tuesday night by the City Council. The council was poised to pass an ordinance amendment which would have increased the distance dispensaries are required to be from schools from 600 to 1,000 feet, but the item was pushed back three weeks after some council members spoke against the proposal and directed staff to do further research. "My concern is we've created an outright ban," said District 3 Councilman Steve Cohn. "What we're talking about here is medical marijuana, not recreational marijua

Just as Sacramento is facing an increase in gun crime city wide, and a rash of muggings on the grid (including one Friday in which a woman was shot), the City Council is tasked with the decision of where to funnel funds resulting from the passage of the Measure U sales tax. What no one disputes is that the Sacramento Police Department has endured serious cuts, the question in front of the council now is how the department should be restored. On Tuesday night the council members will vote on city staff recommendations regarding the usage of Measure U funds, and those recommendations will then be finalized with more detail in the city’s budget, which will go before the council on Jan. 29.

The future can’t come fast enough for Paul Petrovich. The prominent Sacramento developer has spent nine years and more than $25 million to bring the controversial Curtis Park Village project online, and he’s so close now, he must be able to taste it. So at last week’s emergency meeting of the Sierra Curtis Park Neighborhood Association, called to discuss the developer’s latest proposed changes to the project, he did something entirely out of character. He apologized for scaring the bejesus out of the neighborhood and withdrew most of his proposed changes. “No one has a bigger vested interest in making sure this project turns out the best that it can be than me,” Petrovich told the SCNA bo

Developer Paul Petrovich has abandoned a plan to increase the commercial footprint and alter the residential mix of the controversial Curtis Park Village project, according to a city councilman.  “I know many of you are deeply concerned with the Curtis Park Village project and the proposed amendments that have come forward in recent months,” District 5 City Councilman Jay Schenirer stated in an email to constituents. “Yesterday, my office was informed by Mr. Petrovich that he will not be moving forward with any of the changes initially proposed to the commercial area of the project.” The Curtis Park Village project is located between Sacramento City College on the west and the Curtis Par

Spearheading $2.8 million in improvements to McClatchy Park is something that might seem benign, but which residents and city officials say will be a harbinger of change: A disc golf course, where players toss Frisbee-like discs into baskets. “I’m looking forward to being able to help change the park,” said said Aimee Phelps, a founder of the course and the Oak Park Disc Golfers club. “There’s a lot of stuff that goes on out there like drugs, and the disc golf course will help change that.” The disc golf course will break ground at 3500 Fifth Ave. Oct. 13, when city crews are scheduled to bring an auger to the park to dig holes for the course’s baskets, said Phelps, who lives about a blo

This just in from the California Mobile Food Association... what? Haven’t heard of them yet? You will. A large contingent of mobile food truck operators banded together to form a new nonprofit organization, according to a Tuesday night press release from the alliance's founders. The group, formally called the California Mobile Food Association (CalMFA) includes more than 20 area mobile food vendors. Their goal? “Creating a supportive ecosystem for local mobile food businesses, driving awareness for local communities/charities and representing the voice of local mobile food operators within Sacramento’s business community,” according to the release. President Chris Jarosz, owner of Wick

Sacramento will consider more guidelines for medical marijuana dispensaries Tuesday, as a city committee will look at how far the dispensaries should be from parks and schools, even as federal court cases determining their legality are still under way. The City Council’s Law and Legislation Committee will discuss medical marijuana dispensaries at 3 p.m. on Tuesday at City Hall, 915 I St., so the city is prepared to act at the end of the court proceedings, Law and Legislation Committee Chairman Jay Schenirer said Monday. “We need to work this out so we can move forward once those cases are resolved,” he said. “I think we have a model policy, and we want to be moving in the right direction

After a two years of on-again, off-again talks, the dispute between food truck and restaurants in Sacramento might be drawing to a close – a new food truck ordinance is in the final steps of negotiation before being put to the City Council after a meeting between food truck operators, traditional restaurateurs and city officials on Friday. “Basically, the only things that are really left to negotiate are how far a truck can park from a restaurant and for how long,” KrushBurger food truck owner Davin Vculek said. He added that the current 30-minute time limit will likely be extended to a limit that allows a food truck to serve for a whole shift – be it lunch or dinner – in one spot. Righ

It’s crunch time for the negotiations over a new food truck ordinance: The city, food trucks operators and restaurant owners will hold what all parties see as a potentially decisive meeting Friday. Brad Wasson, manager of the city's revenue division, will present a proposal with the hope of obtaining approval from both parties.  “We've put together a kind of straw man proposal for them to look at,” Councilman Jay Schenirer said. “My hope is that it's something they could both live with, and if so, we figure out how to go forward and implement it." Under the current Sacramento city code, food trucks can stay on the street until 6 p.m. in winter months and 8 p.m. in summer months with a 3

Welcome to the beta-test of the Sac Press news blog, where we tell you about articles that we're working on, found interesting, or otherwise thought you might want to know about today. As is always the case here at Sac Press, suggestions are welcome. [Update: 1:16 p.m] Magpie Cafe is opening a new location at 14th at O streets and Owners Janel Inouye and Ed Roehr tell Sac Bee the spot will be an "annex." Details are scant, and the owners are tight-lipped about their plans, but suggested we follow-up in a month. We will. The Beat record store at 1700 J St. is nearing the end of its lease and may have to move, according to the Business Journal. Nothing has really happened yet in this stor

Two years of conflict and debate over a potential McDonald’s restaurant in Oak Park came to an end Tuesday when the City Council unanimously voted to deny an appeal to build the project with a drive-thru. “I’m pleased that the council stayed focused on the real issue, which was the drive-thru,” Michael Boyd, president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Association, said after the meeting. “They listened to the community, which has spoken so loudly for so many years and wanted to be heard. We’re very grateful.” Franchise co-owner John Ritchey declined to comment on the denial of his appeal after the council vote, but a representative provided a prepared statement from the Ritchey family. “We a

The City Council passed its final budget Tuesday night by a vote of 8-1 on the heels of an unexpected announcement by City Manager John Shirey that tentative agreements had been reached with three city unions. The agreements with Stationary Engineers International Union Local 39, Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 and Sacramento City Exempt Employee’s Association could reduce the city’s budget gap by nearly $8 million and prevent more than 100 layoffs. The details of the agreements have not been released, but the main issue in contention between the city and the unions is the amount of money employees contribute toward their retirement funds, and it's likely the agreement has increas

With the introduction of the city budget to the City Council Tuesday, the specter of layoffs and the city’s negotiations with unions over pension plans will take center stage for the next few months – but some important fiscal nuggets could get overlooked. For example, of the 286 city employees expected to be laid off with the proposed budget, 11 of those are in the Community Development Department – which is responsible for building permits and inspections, code compliance, and long-range planning for development projects. Additional layoffs are slated for the Public Works department (which includes transportation and parking services) and the Parks and Recreation department. What will

Local officials are currently in the nation’s capital to lobby for federal support – and funding – for regional projects, pushing the City Council meeting to Thursday. “For me, it’s all about our levees,” City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said. “I’m doing all I can to keep the conversation going (about funding) here in Washington.” Ashby represents an area of the city where levee work is needed to improve flood control, but projects have stalled due to lack of federal funding. City Council members Jay Schenirer, Steve Cohn, Bonnie Pannell and Ashby and City Manager John Shirey left Sacramento Friday with the Cap-to-Cap program, organized by the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce. Whi

The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Sacramento will have to wait two weeks longer to launch key literacy and gang-prevention programs after a surprise move by City Council Tuesday halting the acceptance of a $250,000 grant to fund the programs. Sheedy asked for the agenda item on the grant to be pushed back until she could get more information from City Manager John Shirey about details of the grant. “I haven’t been briefed on it, and I have a lot of questions,” Sheedy said Tuesday. “I have questions about how it was done and the method of a private individual doing it instead of the city.” The item was initially on the City Council’s consent calendar, which typically contains non-contro

Nearly a year after the inaugural SactoMoFo mobile food festival designed to raise awareness of the city’s restrictive mobile food ordinance, the law hasn’t changed, but city officials and mobile food vendors will meet early next month to discuss the issue. Currently, the ordinance limits food trucks from stopping in one space within city limits for more than 30 minutes at a time. “We want to talk to (restaurateurs and mobile food vendors) and see what’s the best policy on this,” said City Councilman Jay Schenirer, chairman of the council’s Law and Legislation Committee. Any change to the ordinance will have to go through the committee before it can go to the full City Council for appro

Don’t be surprised if it feels like everyone from Mayor Kevin Johnson to the head of the Parks Department is on Twitter or Facebook – it’s one of the reasons Sacramento was recently ranked one of the top 10 social media-savvy city governments in the nation. The University of Illinois study released March 22 ranked Sacramento ninth among 75 major U.S. cities based on the level of civic engagement the city government has to offer. Criteria for the study included how accessible city officials are to residents and how easily residents can get information about services and neighborhoods, the study states. “Huge growth in the use of social media has been seen in the past two years,” said Kim

A town hall discussion of the new arena Thursday sparked debate between audience members and City Councilman Jay Schenirer about parking issues and the use of public funds to finance the arena project. Schenirer and Assistant City Manager John Dangberg fielded questions from the nearly 30 people in attendance after presenting an outline of project details, including an overview of the term sheet and financing framework. Schenirer said he held the town hall meeting for neighbors in his district because he wanted to make sure they had direct access to him to talk about whatever concerns they have about the arena project. Dangberg was included, Schenirer said, because he is one city staff m

District 5 youth leaders hosted a forum Thursday at Sacramento High School to discuss student concerns about bus transit issues, including frequency of key bus routes during student commute times and improved safety on buses and at bus stops. The students’ concerns stem from a proposed Regional Transit renewal plan which outlines recommended changes to bus and light rail service over the next five years. High school students in the Sacramento City Unified School District do not receive bus service from the district, so they must rely on private transportation, walking, or the Regional Transit system of buses and light rail, Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan

City Councilman Jay Schenirer said he wants to send a message to California lawmakers about the need to set clear guidelines for regulating medical marijuana with a resolution that highlights Sacramento as a model to follow. The resolution – drafted with the help of local medical cannabis industry lobbyist Max Del Real – will suggest an alternative to the way the state is handling the cannabis issue. “The resolution would talk about what we’ve done in Sacramento and the fact that we have a model program. We want to try to move the state forward in trying to clean up this mess,” Schenirer said Thursday. “My hope is that we can try to be a little bit of a catalyst with the state,” he adde